I got a care package from Sam at Oh! Nuts with some kosher for Passover goodies that my officemates are enjoying. Whatever they don’t gobble up will come with me to Toronto on Wednesday when I visit my in-laws for the holiday. As you recall, I was recently looking for kosher for Passover candy, and certainly found a source for it. In total, Sam sent me four packages:
- Chocolate-covered nougat (shown in picture)
- Assorted jellies (yum – especially good for Tori, who can’t stay away from jellies!)
- A bag of hard candies
- Assorted lollipops
Sam is a great guy. Not only does he have great products, but he is very generous. Thanks, Sam, from the NCA office and from the Axelrad family in Toronto, who will enjoy these very soon!
Behold the pecan log – a summer road trip staple, nuts encased around the cherry nougat center, running as marrow through the breezy memories of my youth. Windows down, Dad speeding along the blisteringly hot highway and my brother and me taking a moment of respite to enjoy a taste of brown and pink goodness before returning to whatever we had been fighting about in the back seat of the car. It was a sweet summertime salve that helped us ignore the heat, if only for a little while, as if the dew of Hermon had descended right there in our car.
Folks, if you don’t have a Stuckey’s near you, you are missing out on a special treat. Have you had a pecan log? What are your memories of them?
Pecan Log by ThisIsIt2.
I am a sucker for Liberty Orchards’ products. There. I said it. Thus, I was excited to see that they have a bunch of candy on sale for 50% off. It looks like a Christmas clearance sale but it’s still great stuff. You may think of Liberty Orchards as the fruit and nut people but in reality they have other stuff as well – gingerbread cookies, shortbread, cremes, jellies and nougats. That’s right – I said it. Nougat. Eric, I hope you are willing to give some of these a shot. They will change your whole worldview.
That's Eric and a statue I Photoshopped his head onto.
My brother
Eric recently sent me an email asking, “Since you now work in the candy industry, has anyone shared with you the secret of exactly what nougat is?” Okay, Eric, it’s not a secret, just a mystery. I didn’t take an obligation to never reveal any of the mysteries of nougat, so I hope it’s okay if I spill the
beans nuts here.
According to Wikipedia, nougat is “a variety of similar confectioneries made with sugar or honey, roasted nuts (almonds, walnuts, pistachios or hazelnuts are common, but not peanuts) and sometimes chopped candied fruit. The consistency of nougat can range from chewy to hard depending on its composition, and it is used in a variety of candy bars and chocolates.”
For those of you who have studied French, you will recognize the cognate noux. Nougat comes from French, from the Preovençal word nogat, adapted from noga and nuga, meaning nut, which found their origins in the Latin nux, meaning nut. I love word origins. I guess you can say I am a nut about them. A nut. Get it?
You are a tough audience.
So, you see, there is no real secret there, other than individual manufacturers’ recipes, I am sure.
What is your favorite nougat candy?
